Recently, many attempts have been made to utilize optical fibers for carrying large quantities of signals or information relatively short distances within large systems, such as main-frame computers and the like. It is well known that optical fibers have a much larger frequency bandwidth than electrical wires and that optical fibers are not subject to outside interference, as is the case with electrical wires. Thus, the use of optical fibers in place of at least some electrical wires has many advantages and is highly desirable.
However, one drawback to the use of optical fibers is the difficulty in fabricating connectors for converting electrical signals into light and directing the light into the optical fibers, and for directing the light at the other end of the optical fiber onto a photonic device for converting the light back into an electrical signal. Optical fibers are very small and difficult to work with, single mode optical fibers, for example, having a core on the order of nine micron in diameter.
Thus, it would be highly desirable to provide easily fabricated connector assemblies for connecting photonic devices to the ends of optical fibers.
It is a purpose of the present invention to provide a new and improved optical fiber assembly.
It is another purpose of the present invention to provide a new and improved optical fiber assembly which is relatively easy and inexpensive to fabricate.
It is still another purpose of the present invention to provide a new and improved optical fiber assembly utilizing improved fabrication techniques.
It is still another purpose of the present invention to provide a new and improved optical fiber assembly utilizing improved fabrication techniques which improve the yield.
It is a further purpose of the present invention to provide an optical fiber assembly in which an optical fiber cable is connected directly to an array of photonic devices and which optical fiber cable connects directly to electronic apparatus.